by Debra Webb
Sylvia grabbed the corkscrew and went to work on opening the wine. Jess gathered a couple of bottles of water from the fridge and offered one to Gina. The last Jess had heard, Gina had decided to back off her alcohol consumption. Gina accepted the bottle without looking up or even saying thanks.
Since no one wanted to talk, Jess went for a slice of pizza. It smelled wonderful and was loaded with everything but the kitchen sink, the way she liked it. She sank into a chair at the table as she tore into the slice of hot, spicy perfection.
Sylvia didn’t sit until she’d tossed back a glass of wine then she promptly declared, “Gina is gay. That asshole Stevens just outed her on Facebook.”
The sound of Gina’s phone hitting the wall made Jess jump. The reporter stamped over to the table, grabbed a slice of pizza and started devouring it.
“Wow.” Jess wasn’t sure it was safe to say anything else. And she’d thought she had a big secret. This was the Bible Belt, folks were still behind the curve on tolerance and acceptance when it came to alternative lifestyles.
“Precisely,” Sylvia acknowledged, and then she frowned. “Haven’t you seen the news tonight? It’s on every damned channel.”
“I try not to watch.” Jess shook her head and focused on her pizza. The truth was she didn’t care to see or hear anything the reporters had to say about her. She was okay with the expose Gina had done, there was a mutual goal behind that move. The rest Jess had no desire to filter.
“Stevens set the whole thing up,” Sylvia stated with complete certainty. “Someone comes on his Facebook page and asks why he hasn’t done anything as a TV reporter on being gay in Birmingham. He raved on for a bit before suggesting Stevens was intolerant or else he’d report on the city’s other minority. In his reply, Stevens goes on endlessly about how he believes everyone has the right to live their lives their own way. In fact, he said, one of his dearest friends and most admired colleagues is gay. Then he posted a picture of Gina.”
Jess couldn’t deny being a little startled. Not that she minded. To each their own. She turned to Gina. “I’m sorry he told the world before you were ready.”
Gina shrugged and reached for a second slice. Jess would bet her beloved Coach Bleecker bag that Gina Coleman hadn’t eaten a second portion of anything since she was twelve years old.
“The station is weighing whether they can afford to keep me,” she said, disgusted. “The backlash could drastically affect ratings. They wouldn’t say it, but I know how they think.”
Sylvia shook her head. “You give everything you have to give and then at the first sign of controversy suddenly nothing matters.”
The medical examiner had lost her husband when he had an affair with a younger woman willing to have children. Despite the tragic ending to that love triangle, Sylvia was clearly still bitter and determined to have a younger paramour of her own. Jess’s only problem with the doctor’s decision was that the younger paramour was a member of her team.
Proof positive that Jess wasn’t the only one with such a screwed up personal life.
“From the day I returned to Birmingham,” she said, deciding to throw in her two cents worth, “every aspect of my life has been in the news.” She laughed dryly. “I figure it can’t get any worse than it already has and I lived through it. You will too.”
Gina grabbed a napkin and dabbed her lips. “My career in Birmingham is over.”
Jess had been there too, but she opted not to remind Gina. Instead, for the next ten minutes Jess and Sylvia attempted to assure Gina that this was the twenty-first century and being gay was completely acceptable and respected.
“Besides,” Sylvia tacked on, “you can’t be fired for being gay. Your boss certainly can’t cite your ratings. You are the most watched reporter in Birmingham. This city loves you whether you like dick or not.”
Jess almost choked on her water. She bit her lip to prevent saying she was pretty sure Gina enjoyed it occasionally. After all, she and Dan had an ongoing friends-with-benefits relationship until Jess returned. She couldn’t help wondering if Dan had heard the news.
“You’re right.” Gina hugged her knees to her chest. “They can’t fire me, but they can start grooming someone else for the spotlight.” She shook her head. “Hard work and luck only gets you so far in this business. A station has to be behind you. The powers that be have to want to make you a star and to keep you there.”
That, unfortunately, was true of any profession. A certain amount of politics was the bane of all careers. Jess doubted that would ever change.
Sylvia poured herself another glass of wine. “Why aren’t you having any, Harris?” Sylvia jerked her head toward Gina. “I’m trying to respect Gina’s need to avoid a path toward alcoholism—even if she has the perfect excuse to fall off the wagon. What’s your excuse?”
To her utter consternation, Jess’s brain opted to go on hiatus at that moment. “I…” Jess shrugged. “I need to keep my head clear for this case.”
Sylvia scoffed. “You’ve had wine before when you were working on a case. Are you two trying to make me look bad?” She made a face that warned she would not tolerate any such attempts. “Don’t even start. If you hacked up bodies for a living, you would drink too.”
Valid point. Jess looked from one to the other. These two women were her friends. She could tell them about the pregnancy and ask that they keep it quiet. She was certain they would honor her request. Nah, she couldn’t risk it. Besides, she had to tell her team first—and Dan’s parents. Oh God, she so dreaded his mother finding out.
A change of subject to something safer was in order. “Do you think Stevens did this because of the Spears story? Since he’s not a better reporter than you, he’s clearly desperate, and maybe this was his stab at getting a minute in the spotlight.” The more Jess thought about it, the angrier she got. “If he was half as good as you, he wouldn’t have to resort to such underhanded tactics.”
“Hear, hear,” Sylvia lifted her glass. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
“I think,” Jess was on a roll now, “what you need to shut down this little frenzy is the inside track on what’s happening with my latest murder investigation. We believe Spears is involved in this one too.” The words were out before Jess could consider what she was offering. She felt a little guilty that maybe using Gina to help with her situation from time to time might be what placed her into the line of fire with Stevens. Envy was a nasty business.
Besides, what were friends for?
Gina got up and walked to the homework board Jess had made. “You might be right. This could be what I need to stay on top.” She set her hands on her hips. “I could ride along with you and the team. Get into the trenches and away from all this other unpleasantness.”
Jess wanted to kick herself. “Ride-alongs can be risky.”
Inspiration dawned in the reporter’s expression. “Seriously, this could be great.” She rushed back to the table and sat down next to Jess. “You could save my career.”
“Of course she’ll include you,” Sylvia said. “That’s what friends do.”
Jess mustered up a smile. “Absolutely.” She gave a nod of finality more to solidify the decision for herself than for anyone else. “I’m heading to Scottsboro at six sharp in the morning. It’s a two hour drive. You’re welcome to follow.” The logistics would be a huge pain and no one on her team was going to be happy. No cop liked having a member of the media looking over her shoulder.
What had she done? Jess kicked the doubts aside. She had supported a friend who was going to help her prove Dan was being framed in Allen’s disappearance.
“That’s settled.” Sylvia gingerly picked up a slice of pizza. “So, aren’t you at all curious if it’s true?”
Sylvia directed the question at Jess. Jess frowned as if she didn’t understand. “If what’s true?”
Sylvia laughed. “The story about Gina.”
Gina rolled her eyes. “You’re such a bitch, Sylvia.”
Jess shrugged. “It’s irrelevant to me.” She decided to give Sylvia something else to ruminate on. “The same as you picking a young man scarcely more than half your age. You like your partners young, she likes hers female. Who has the right to judge?”
Sylvia narrowed her eyes. “I thought you were against my relationship with Chad.”
Chad not Cook. Jess struggled to cap her rising irritation. “Only because he’s a member of my team. I don’t want any work issues cropping up.”
Sylvia’s lips stretched into a wicked grin. “The only thing that’s up when he and I are together is—”
“No one wants to hear that!” Gina held up her hands and waved them back and forth. “Subject change, please.”
As annoyed as Jess was with Sylvia pursuing the relationship with Cook, at least she’d accomplished her goal and was more than happy to move on. “How’s Nina?” Jess had no idea where that question had come from, but there it was.
Sylvia blinked, apparently as startled as Jess by the unexpected inquiry. “There’s been no change in her condition. We’re moving her to a new hospital in two weeks. We’re hopeful about the treatment there.” She took a sip of her wine but the move came too late to prevent Jess seeing her lips tremble. “Thank you for asking.”
Nina Baron, Sylvia’s sister, had once been Dan’s wife. Ten years ago when Jess had run into Dan at the Hoover Publix on Christmas Eve, he’d just gone through the divorce from Nina. Nina had been in a private care facility since. Dan hadn’t known about Nina’s mental illness until she’d tried to kill him with his own handgun. The family had kept that dark secret extremely well. Nina had barely spoken since that horrifying event. She’d retreated inside herself and no one seemed able to reach her.
Silence lapsed while they finished off the pizza. When Jess had been a teenager in Birmingham, her only friend had been Buddy Corlew. She and Lil had been muddling through foster care. Unlike Sylvia and Gina, they’d hardly gotten more than a glance at what life was like for girls whose families were rich and sent them to the best private school in the state. The same one Dan had attended.
Now, they were friends. Life certainly took some strange turns.
Even stranger was that it required all three of them, each bringing her own expertise, to keep this city a safer place. Funny how things worked out that way.
Jess had spent most of her life being a loner with maybe one person she actually called a friend. At that moment, she realized she wanted more for her child. She wanted her child to be surrounded by family and friends right from the beginning.
Maybe Dan was right. They should get married and invite the world to celebrate the occasion.
Okay, it was official. The lack of wine was taking a toll. Or maybe it was hormones. Her body was in gestation mode and everything else was going to pot. The next thing she knew she’d be going to afternoon tea and joining the local Women’s Club and the PTA. Jess redirected her errant thoughts. Clearly, she was edging toward hysteria.
Not true. She wanted her child to have a far better childhood than hers and Lil’s. Nothing wrong with that goal.
As much as she wanted to ensure that end, the bottom line was, if she didn’t find a way to stop Spears she wouldn’t have a life.
12
Brownfield Farm, Scottsboro
Wednesday, September 1, 9:15 a.m.
“It’s a good thing you warned me to dress for nosing around on a farm.” Gina Coleman wiped the side of her running shoes on a clump of grass, but the mud wasn’t coming off to her satisfaction.
Yesterday’s downpour had turned into today’s mud pit. Since this morning’s agenda was about searching the property for whatever they could find, in addition to interviewing neighbors, fitting attire was essential.
Not to mention Jess was still annoyed that her favorite pair of shoes had lost the battle with the elements yesterday. She wasn’t sacrificing any more of her already meager wardrobe. After her motel room, along with every article of clothing she’d brought to Birmingham, had been destroyed a few weeks ago, she hadn’t found the time to pull together a decent wardrobe. On the other hand, her limited shopping since the vandalism was probably for the best considering she would need an entirely different wardrobe for the coming months. Maybe jeans and sneakers would become SPU’s new dress code. The BPD logos on the t-shirts were official enough.
Everyone but Hayes had been happy to get the heads up about today’s suggested casual attire. Somehow, the man managed to make jeans and a polo look elegant. Even his Sketchers were leather. Maybe he was still more lawyer wannabe than he realized. Suited Jess just fine. It didn’t hurt to have a detective with a law degree under his belt, particularly now. As long as he learned to fit in, preferably sooner than later.
“Contrary to popular belief,” Jess informed the reporter, “this job isn’t always glamorous.”
“I guess we have that in common.” Gina motioned for her cameraman to come closer. “Did you get a good pan of the house and yard?”
Before he could answer, Jess warned, “Remember, Officer Cook goes where you go and don’t touch anything. Keep the gloves on and, if you go inside, wear the shoe covers. “
“I won’t touch anything,” Gina promised. “I won’t air anything without your prior approval.”
Jess couldn’t decide if the invitation for Gina to come along had been a stroke of brilliance or a lapse in sanity. Either way, they were here and she had work to do. “Detective Wells, let’s start where we left off with the interviews.”
Lori scanned the yard. “I’ll let Hayes know we’re ready to go.”
There was that insecurity again. “We don’t need the lieutenant. He and Harper should carry on with their search of the grounds. You and I can handle the interviews.”
Visibly reluctant, Lori headed for her Mustang. Jess climbed into the passenger seat and watched the reporter get started. Gina stood beneath one of the big Oak trees and spoke to the camera. Shooting an opening, Jess supposed. This was definitely a first for her. She’d never worked with a reporter at the scene. They were typically outside the perimeter, like those held back by the sheriff’s roadblocks a half a mile down the road in either direction.
The department would likely catch some flak for showing preference. Jess would deal with that when the time came.
“Sheriff Foster sent Harper a list of people who’ve recently been involved with Amanda and her boyfriend in one way or another. He said neither of our suspects has any real friends to speak of.” Lori passed her cell phone to Jess. “Harper forwarded the list to me, if you want to take a look.”
As Lori backed out of the long, rutted drive, Jess scanned the names and comments Foster had made about each. She hesitated on one name. Slade Evans. Former boyfriend. Two arrests for assault, one misdemeanor drug possession.
“Let’s pay this Slade Evans a visit,” Jess suggested. The closest two neighbors had already insisted they hadn’t heard or seen anything. They had no connections socially or otherwise to the Brownfield family. Jess doubted they’d get anymore than that out of the neighbors who lived even farther from the farm. The local radio and television stations had been running photos of the two suspects and asking the community for help. No useful tips so far.
“What’s the address for Evans?”
“Harbin’s Auto Repair on Main Street. Evans is a mechanic there.”
Lori stalled before backing out onto the road, but she didn’t look at Jess. “We should have Hayes or Harper come along if we’re going into town.”
“We’ll have a BPD cop right behind us. I need the rest of the team at the scene.”
Lori nodded, still avoiding Jess’s gaze as she backed out onto the road. Jess mulled over the things she could say but she’d said them all before. Undoubtedly, Lori would come to terms with what happened in her own time. Another wave of guilt washed over Jess as she pondered the secret she was keeping from her friend. Of all the people she had come to know since her return to Birmingha
m, Lori was the one Jess considered a close friend. She didn’t want anything to ruin that.
Trusting Lori wasn’t an issue. Jess opened her mouth to tell her, but Lori spoke first. “Chet scheduled his surgery for the week after next.” She glanced at Jess as she navigated the car past the roadblock. Reporters waved and shouted questions but Jess ignored them. She had nothing to give anyone.
“He’ll be out of work for a few days, maybe a week. If that’s a problem, he can reschedule.”
Jess was glad to hear Harper was getting the vasectomy reversal taken care of. That secret could have torn him and Lori apart. Although, Lori didn’t sound as excited about the news as Jess would have expected. “I’m glad that issue worked out. I’m sure we can manage without him for a few days.” Admittedly, it wouldn’t be easy. Jess relied heavily on each of her detectives, as well as Cook. She had to remember to see that Harper started prepping Cook for the detective’s exam as soon as things calmed down. He deserved the promotion at the earliest possible date.
“I guess I’m glad too.”
Jess frowned. Somehow, the detective didn’t sound glad. “You sure about that?”
Lori squeezed the steering wheel more tightly. “The reversal comes with a condition. Once the surgery is done, scar tissue can develop and create problems, so they recommend no waiting to start a family. I’m not sure I’m ready for kids.” She shook her head. “We’re not even married. We’re just getting this relationship off the ground and his ex-wife is acting like a crazy bitch.” She paused to draw in a shuddering breath. “Even if what she did was best for Chester. It’s just a mess.”
This was the moment. Lori needed to feel as if someone else understood. Someone career oriented like her. Someone like Jess. Someone in a similar position.
“You think you have problems,” Jess said, going for offhanded but failing miserably. “I just found out I’m pregnant.”